First graders visit the library once each week with their whole class to hear a story or participate in a learning activity and then check out two books. To enhance and encourage your child's literacy and information research skills, see the additional activities below to expand upon each week's lesson.
Late March and April
First grade students will begin their study of Tomie DePaola's wonderful books.
March
March 2nd marks Dr. Seuss' birthday and we'll be celebrating his wonderful books in the LRC throughout the month of March! Listed below you'll find a selection of Dr. Seuss' books that students may hear during story time, in their classroom, or may be available for checkout during their whole class visit to the Library.
January and February
Throughout the months of January and February, students in kindergarten and first grade will hear selections from the 2010-2011 Monarch Award Nominees. At the end of February, students will vote on their favorite book, have their votes submitted to the 2010-2011 Illinois Monarch Award committee, and find out what children throughout the state of Illinois have chosen as their favorite. For more information regarding the Monarch Award, see the following link: Monarch Award. The following books represent a selection of Monarch Award nominees children will experience:
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by Deborah Hopkinson Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel Cowboy and Octopus by Jon Scieszka Dog & Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger Fred Stays with Me by Nancy Coffelt Help Me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy Oh, Theodore!: Guinea Pig Poems by Susan Katz Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton The Squeaky Door by Margaret Read MacDonald Too Many Toys by David Shannon Your Pal, Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach.
December 13-17
Holiday favorites, old and new, this week in the LRC!
December 6-10
November 29-December 3
Scholastic Book Fair in the LRC! Browse and shop for books during our regularly scheduled LRC time. NO #2 Library Visits this week.
November 22-26
No classes due to Parent/Teacher Conferences and Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!
November 15-19
First grade students will watch a short video presentation introducing the Scholastic Book Fair. Following the video, students will continue their study of Cynthia Rylant.
November 8-12
First grade students will continue their study of author Cynthia Rylant this week.
November 1-5
First grade students will watch a short video introducing the Character Counts Fundraising Project for the Dominican Republic. Following the video, students will begin their study of author Cynthia Rylant.
October 25-29
This week first grade students will listen to a Halloween book! Try some of these Halloween favorites, old and new, at home with your child:Moonlight, the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant; Where's My Mummyby Carolyn Crimi; Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson; Clifford's Halloween by Norman Bridwell; The Berenstain Bears' Trick or Treatby Stan & Jan Berenstain; Maisy's Halloween by Lucy Cousins; Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman; and What a Scare, Jesse Bear by Nancy White Carlstrom.
October 18-22
First grade students will complete their mini-author/illustrator study of Kevin Henkes this week with Sheila Rae, the Brave. Sheila Rae believes that she is not afraid of anything. She steps on cracks, walks backward with her eyes closed, and teases her sister for her fears. But when Sheila Rae gets lost one day, she discovers maybe, just maybe, she isn’t quite as brave as she thought she was.
October 11-15
First grade students continued their author/illustrator study of Kevin Henkes this week. We read Kitten's First Full Moon, the 2005 winner of the Caldecott Medal, and Old Bear, a short, colorful story. We noted that both books continue the style of artwork that Henkes used in last week's books,A Good Day and My Garden. Students also determined that Kitten's First Full Moon was created entirely in black/white/grays because it takes place at night. We discussed the Caldecott Medal and why it is given to a book--in honor of the outstanding work of an illustrator and his/her illustrations. Encourage your child to read more books written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes to enhance their skills and augment our study. Take time, too, to introduce your child to the world of Caldecott Medal and Caldecott Honor books. For a list of past winners, see the following website: Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present.
October 4-8
First grade students began their author/illustrator study of Kevin Henkes this week. Most well-known for his "mouse" books such as Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Wemberley Worried, Owen, Chrysanthemum, and others, Kevin Henkes has also written and illustrated several books without his recurring mouse characters and using a different style of artwork. First graders compared and contrasted his artwork in A Good Day and My Garden with artwork from his "mouse" books. We noted that his mouse books use very fine, narrow lines to draw his characters, but his non-mouse books use thick, fat outlines to define his characters. We also noted that the characters in A Good Day have experiences that create bad days just like we do! And just as commonly as those characters have bad days, they also had experiences that turned bad days into good days! We noted in My Garden that having a great imagination like our main character is wonderful fun. Encourage your child to read more books written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes to enhance their skills and augment our study.
September 27-October 1
Due to first grade MAP testing in the LRC, most students did not have a regularly scheduled whole class visit to the library. A few classes, however, were able to visit the library and hear the wonderful story, Wild About Books by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown. This delightful story, told in Dr. Seuss-style rhymes, reveals a menagerie of animals eager to read when the accidental, but serendipitous day arrived that Molly McGrew drove her bookmobile into the zoo.
September 20-24
This week, first grade students listen to The Shelf Elf by Jackie Mims Hopkins and illustrated by Rebecca Thornburgh. Skoob, our resident shelf elf, teaches us about taking good care of our books, using shelf markers to browse for books, and other good library manners.
September 13-17
First grade students listened and participated in the book, We're Going on a Book Hunt by Pat Miller and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott. Our book takes the popular chant, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," and transforms the words into the experiences of active students in a busy school library. First graders joined in on the refrain, "We're going on a book hunt. / We're going to find a good one. / We know how. / Not too easy, not too hard, but just right." Finding a just right book is an important skill we will work on all throughout first grade. Encourage your child's reading habits by continuing to read to them and assisting them in finding books that challenge but do not discourage their developing reading skills--help them findjust right books. What's the best way to find "just right" books? Talk to your child's teacher, your child's school library information specialist, your school's literacy support specialist and your public librarian. All of these folks would love to help you find great books to encourage and develop your child's reading skills.
September 6-10
Students whose regularly scheduled classes visited the LRC on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday of this week heard the story Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Library Lion is the delightful story of a lion who begins visiting the local library but runs into trouble as he tries to both obey the rules and help his librarian friend. Books that affectionately describe the delight of the library expand a child's world and encourage them to read and enjoy all that a library has to offer. More library adventure books include Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk;Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library by Vicki Myron; D.W.'s Library Card by Marc Brown; and Wild About Books by Judy Sierra. Share one of these books with your child today!
August 30- September 3
During their first visit to the Library Resource Center, first grade students heard the story, The Library Doors. What a surprise to find out that the book is sung to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus"! First grade students also checked out their first books of the school year. That's right! First graders are allowed to check out two books! They may have chosen a story or a nonfiction book about animals, dinosaurs, trucks, or even a book of poetry. Together, read the books that your child brought home with him or her. You will enjoy sharing the books together and may even learn something new about an exotic animal or dump trucks! Please remember to help your child return his/her books each week.
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek by Deborah Hopkinson
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel
Cowboy and Octopus by Jon Scieszka
Dog & Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Fred Stays with Me by Nancy Coffelt
Help Me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy
Oh, Theodore!: Guinea Pig Poems by Susan Katz
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas
Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
The Squeaky Door by Margaret Read MacDonald
Too Many Toys by David Shannon
Your Pal, Mo Willems Presents Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach.
Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present.